1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates generally to cable modem component interchangeability. More particularly, the present invention relates to providing characteristic information in a memory associated with a cable modem tuner to allow the same cable modem operating system version to support different tuners.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventional cable modems contain a variety of peripheral components along with processors, memory, and peripherals interfaces. One example of the peripheral component is a tuner. Cable modems use tuners to receive and transmit data onto a network, typically a hybrid fiber/coaxial network. A cable modem is typically coupled with a network node such as a server or client system. The cable modem allows the server or client system to communicate with other network nodes in a network through a cable modem termination system. To allow communication through a cable modem termination system, the cable modem and the cable modem termination system typically are configured to communicate characteristic information. One piece of information is a frequency or range of frequencies used for data transmissions. The cable modem termination system and the cable modem can also communicate transmission power characteristics.
Many different tuners can be used in a cable modem. Although the many tuners may have similar features and capabilities, the tuners may also have unique and particular characteristics. In one example, a variety of different tuners may be configured to operate in a common range of radio frequencies. However, tuner components may only work with specific internal cable modem frequencies. A cable modem operating system typically uses knowledge of specific characteristics of a tuner during initialization to allow configuration of other components as well as to allow communication with a cable modem termination system.
Because tuners have unique and particular characteristics, a cable modem operating system typically is specifically coded to work with one particular tuner. Once a cable modem operating system is coded, the tuner component is fixed. That is, a different tuner cannot work with the cable modem unless the cable modem operating system itself is changed. This prevents the ability to take advantage of different or new tuners that may be associated with benefits such as lower cost or higher durability. Consequently, it is desirable to provide improved techniques for allowing cable modem component interchangeability.